


But You Held the Ice

by JoMouse



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Best Friends, Bullying, Domestic Abuse (not between Ziam), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protectiveness, really not as dark as it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 19:56:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5598841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every time Zayn gets hurt, Liam is there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But You Held the Ice

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://www.ultraimg.com/image/GBPw)
> 
>  
> 
> Title from "Don't You Go" by All Time Low
> 
> Disclaimer: Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

The first time they officially met, Zayn was sitting in the school office while the nurse was cleaning a scrape on his knee. He’d tripped while running away from some boys who had been teasing him for the colour of his skin, but he wasn’t going to tell all of that to the nurse. He wasn’t a snitch. After he’d tripped, the other boys had shouted at him a few times, but left him alone. He’d gathered his fallen books, nearly crying when he saw his comic had torn, and limped to the office for a plaster.

“Got another one,” the secretary said, drawing Zayn and the nurse’s attention to the doorway. Another boy was standing there, struggling against the hold on his collar and a scowl on his face. “This one got the bad end of a scrape with some other boys.”

Zayn recognized Liam. He was in his class, but stayed to himself. He knew the boys that harassed him, bullied Liam as well. The nurse huffed a sigh as she gently led Liam away from the secretary and settled him into the chair next to Zayn. She gave him a handful of tissues before disappearing out the door, muttering something about ice. 

“Hey,” Zayn whispered and Liam gave him a small nod, wiping at his eyes as soon as the nurse’s back was turned. “It’s alright to cry. Looks like it hurts.” There was a lump on Liam’s forehead that was changing colours already and it looked like his nose was still bleeding despite the tissues he was holding against it.

“S’okay,” Liam muttered. “How’s your knee?” He pointed to the blood-dotted rip in Zayn’s jeans.

“Doesn’t hurt. Tore my comic, that hurts more,” he said, showing Liam, not knowing why and fully expecting the other boy to start teasing him like the other kids.

Instead, Liam’s lips quirked into a smile and he reached to the stack of books he’d set down when he came in and pulled something out, handing it over. “S’not Avengers, but you can borrow this.” 

Zayn hesitated before taking the item and seeing it was a Batman comic. “Really?” he asked, but took it before the other boy could nod or change his mind. “Thanks.”

The nurse came back in and handed an ice pack to Liam before looking back at Zayn. “Do you think you’re ready to go to class?” Zayn peeked at Liam out of the corner of his eye, struggling to hold the ice pack to his forehead and the tissues to his still bleeding nose. He shook his head at the nurse, who gave a small smile.

“Well, then you can help me out while we wait for Liam’s mum,” she explained before helping Liam to his feet and moving him towards the cot against the far wall. “She’s on her way from work to take him to A&E.” She pushed Liam to lay back and got him some new tissues for his nose, instructing him to pinch the bridge gently, sighing when he winced. “Might be broken,” she muttered and then gestured to Zayn to move over to them, pushing him to sit on the cot next to Liam’s hip. “Hold this ice pack to his head and make sure he stays awake, yeah?” Zayn nodded and took the ice pack, following her instructions and giving her a small smile as she left the room.

“This alright?” Zayn asked, gesturing to the ice and Liam closed his eyes with a sigh and slight nod. “No. No going to sleep.” Liam’s eyes snapped back open and his cheeks flushed a bit. “Your mum will be here soon.” Liam’s lips turned down in a frown and his eyes welled with tears again. “Don’t like your mum?”

“Love her, man. Just hate she has to miss work for this,” Liam explained, his voice slightly muffled. 

“Not your fault you got jumped.”

Liam’s eyes widened for a moment before he nodded slightly. “Yeah…” he trailed off when his mother came running into the room, face flushed. “Hi, mum.”

She moved to the side of the bed, not seeming to notice Zayn’s presence, so he ducked over to the doorway where the nurse was standing. He handed her the ice pack and, with only a quick glance over his shoulder, he left the room, hoping Liam would be alright. 

Zayn was only a little surprised that Liam wasn’t in school the next day, sure the boy was home nursing his wounds. When the nurse stopped him as he was leaving for the day and handed him Liam’s books, mistakenly thinking the two were good friends, he was floored when she mentioned he was suspended for three days.

“But, it wasn’t his fault!” Zayn argued, trying to think if anyone else was missing that day, if the person who had attacked Liam had gotten into trouble as well. The nurse gave him a small smile that he didn’t quite understand before patting his shoulder gently. She walked away before he could say anything and he stuck Liam’s books in his bag racing to catch the bus home. 

Once home, he pulled the phone book off its shelf and started trying to find Liam’s number. He had just found five Payne’s listed when his mother came into the room. “What are you doing?” He explained that he had Liam’s books and wanted to let him know in case he needed them while he was out of school. “I don’t know if I want you to be friends with someone who gets suspended for fighting.”

Zayn huffed. “It wasn’t his fault. He gets bullied.” The ‘like me’ went unsaid, but his mother nodded, asking for his name again.

“Liam Payne? Karen’s son?” Zayn shrugged as his mom tapped her fingers against her chin. “What is her husband’s name?” She ran her fingers over the listings and stopped at one. “Geoff! That’s it.” She picked up the phone, dialing the number. “Hello? Is this Karen? Hi, this is Trisha Malik.” She laughed. “Yes, my son is in your son’s class.” Zayn was looking at his mom and pointing at the phone and then himself. “Zayn was wondering if he could talk to Liam for a moment.” His mom paused and nodded her head. “I can understand that; Zayn would be grounded as well.” Zayn’s face fell. “However, he has Liam’s books that were left in the nurse’s office yesterday, and would like to return them.” His mother paused again before giving him a small smile. “Well, if you would like to come by for tea, we’d love to have you and I’m sure Liam is already anxious to get out of the house for a short while.”

The conversation wrapped up after that and Trisha began getting things together for tea, hurrying Zayn off to change clothes because they were having company. She was setting up some oil to fry samosas as Zayn hurried to his room. Pulling on a pair of jeans and his Captain America shirt, he was back downstairs in time to help his mother cook. 

“So, are you and Liam good friends?” 

“Only actually spoke to him yesterday for the first time. He’s pretty quiet,” Zayn explained, laughing when his mom swatted him for trying to steal one of the freshly fried treats.

“Like you,” she responded, a fond smile on her face. She opened her mouth to say more when a knock echoed in the foyer.

“I’ve got it,” Zayn shouted as he ran towards it. He yanked the door open, laughing when Liam and his mother startled on the other side. “Hi, Mrs. Payne. Liam.” He stood back to let them in, trying not to stare at Liam’s black eyes and the plaster across his nose. His forehead was still swollen and the bruising ran into that around his eyes, making him look like he was wearing a swirled mask over the top half of his face. “You kind of look like Batman, mate,” he said, laughing when Liam stuck his tongue out at him.

“That’s what his father said, as well,” Liam’s mom said as she followed Zayn into the kitchen where tea was set up at the small table. “Trisha! It’s nice to see you and so nice of Zayn to get Liam’s schoolwork for him.”

Trisha hugged Karen and led her to a seat before turning to the boys and indicating a tray on the counter. “You two can go up to Zayn’s room for tea. I’m sure you don’t want to listen to two old ladies chatting.”

“You’re not old, ma’am,” Liam said, speaking for the first time as he followed Zayn out of the room, stumbling on the stairs.

They settled cross-legged on Zayn’s bed, facing each other with the tray between. Liam picked up one of the samosas and sniffed it, giving Zayn a questioning look. “It’s good,” he said, grabbing one for himself and taking a large bite. He turned the pastry to show Liam the filling. After a moment, Liam gave a small shrug and bit into it. After chewing and swallowing, a bright smile crossed his face. “Told you.”

They ate and drank in silence. Zayn watched Liam look around his room, taking in the Power Ranger bedding and comic hero posters on the walls. After they were done, Zayn moved the tray to his desk and came back to the bed, handing Liam the comic from the day before. “Thanks for letting me read this.”

“No problem,” Liam mumbled as he took it back. “You took good care of it.”

Zayn nodded. “So, what happened?” he burst out after another few moments of awkward silence. Liam shrugged. “Why are you suspended if you got jumped?” 

Liam opened his mouth and snapped it shut again when he heard his mother calling from down the stairs. “I’ve got to go.” He was gone before Zayn could say anything else. Dropping his chin to his chest, still confused, he jumped when Liam ducked back into the room. “I’ll see you at school in a few days, yeah?”

Zayn smiled until his eyes scrunched shut. “Yeah, mate.”

Once Liam came back to school, he stuck to Zayn’s side like they’d always been friends. The first time Liam dropped down next to him at lunch, the food nearly fell out of his gaping mouth. When Liam’s other friend, Niall, dropped down and helped himself to some of Zayn’s crisps, he didn’t know how to react. It didn’t take long for the three of them to become friends.

***

The following year, Liam and Niall were in the same class, but Zayn was across the hall. They managed to sweet talk their teachers into allowing them to sit where they wanted and they could see each other through the windows in the doors. It was through this window, he saw Liam watching when Douglas, the leader of the bullies, knocked Zayn’s books to the floor one day. When Zayn reached down to pick up them up, Douglas shoved him out of his desk and he ended up banging his chin on the floor and biting his lip.

As Zayn spit out blood and assured the teacher it’d been an accident, shaking at the look in Douglas’ eyes, he was given a pass to the nurse’s office. He was still sitting there through lunch, the nurse debating if he was going to need a stitch or two in his lip. His mom had just arrived when the secretary came in, once again dragging a beat up Liam with her.

“Again?” the nurse asked looking between the two of them and Liam just shrugged, wincing when the nurse gave him some ice for his already bruising eye. 

The nurse stepped out to talk to Zayn’s mom and Zayn took the ice pack, holding it for Liam while he played with the hem of his shirt. “What happened?” 

Liam glanced at him through his good eye, lifting a hand to run gently below the, now, barely bleeding cut on Zayn’s lip. “How’s your lip?”

“Hurts, but, hopefully, I won’t have to get stitches.” He glanced over at the mirror on the wall. “Although, maybe a scar would be wicked, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Liam said, taking the ice back from him when Zayn’s mom came back into the room and gave the boys a sad smile. “I’ll see you.”

“Tomorrow, yeah?” Zayn asked, frowning when Liam didn’t answer.

Zayn ended up with two stitches, but barely a scar. Liam was suspended for three days. Zayn still didn’t understand.

***

The next year, the three boys were in class together, while Douglas was with the other teacher. Zayn was able to avoid any problems and the bully seemed to leave Liam alone as well. Once school was out for the summer, Zayn breathed a sigh of relief and started making plans with Liam. Things never seemed to go as planned, though.

Liam started training at the local athletic club as a boxer. He spent a few hours a day there, while Zayn slept in or sketched. After his sessions were over, Liam would come over to Zayn’s and they would spend the rest of the day together. Niall would join them as often as possible, but he was helping his dad out in his store, so didn’t have as much free time as the others. 

The second week of July was hot. Liam kept asking Zayn to come swimming with him at the club, but Zayn refused. He didn’t know how to swim and generally felt uncomfortable around pools. He refused to admit that to Liam; he still feared his friend would realize one day that he wasn’t worth his time.

Finally, Zayn gave in, figuring he could just sit on the side of the pool, claim to work on his tan. He knew that would just earn him good natured teasing from Liam about his vanity, but better that than being teased for being a coward. He arrived at the club and glanced over the fence at the pool, but Liam wasn’t there yet. He looked at the ankle-biters and their parents and the couple of girls who were lying back on lounges, giggling together and decided it would be safe for him to wait within the fence for Liam.

He opened the gate and made his way carefully towards a couple of empty chairs, located at the deeper end of the pool. He looked across to the lifeguard stand and groaned when he realized who was standing at the bottom and chatting with the bored looking blonde who never let her eyes leave the people in and around the water. Douglas. He puffed himself up to get the girl’s attention, being egged on by a couple of his friends. Zayn saw the girl say something to Douglas, still refusing to look at him, and the bully’s face turned a flaming red. 

Zayn tried to bite back his bark of laughter, but didn’t quite manage. His heart sank when Douglas’ eyes met his across the pool, a sneer like the worst Disney villain crossing his face. Zayn dropped his stuff and scrambled to pick it up, wanting to make a quick getaway. He watched as Douglas hurried around the pool as quickly as he could without getting in trouble for running. Zayn had just managed to gather his stuff and get to his feet, when he felt an arm thrown around his shoulders.

“Hey, mate,” Douglas growled as Zayn yelped. The lifeguard looked over at them and Zayn tried to let her know with his eyes that he was in trouble. “Don’t even think about it.” Douglas waved at the lifeguard, a big smile on his face which disappeared as soon as she turned her head away. Zayn felt his body sag, defeat washing over him. “Did you miss me this year?” Zayn didn’t answer and Douglas shoved him away. “Answer me!”

Zayn shook his head and tried to move to the side, but he was blocked on three sides by Douglas and his friends, the pool behind him. There was no good outcome for this situation and he started darting his eyes around, to see if anyone saw what was going on. He didn’t dare look behind himself at the lifeguard. He thought about yelling for help, but just as he opened his mouth, Douglas shoved him again hard and he stumbled, falling backwards.

The splash had to be epic and he heard shouting as he went under, fear filling him as he scrambled to try to get to the surface, but he couldn’t figure out which way was up. He felt his backside hit something hard and he gasped out, sucking in water, his limbs flailing as the panic set in. He felt something wrap around his chest and he struggled against it until he realized he was moving closer to the surface. When his head left the water, he kept choking and sobbing. The pretty lifeguard pulled him to the side and he looked up, thoroughly embarrassed as Liam reached down to help him out of the pool.

“What happened?” Liam asked and Zayn just shook his head, trying to figure out where his stuff had gone; his towel was in the pool, but, thankfully, his iPod was sitting on the ground outside the pool. He snatched it up, still choking and ran for the gate, refusing to turn when Liam shouted after him.

He didn’t stop running until he just couldn’t draw a breath anymore and he bent over and vomited all over the sidewalk, tears flowing freely down his cheeks and his body shuddering with heaving, sobs, and general fear. Once he finally stopped throwing up, he walked slowly towards his house, hoping no one was home so he wouldn’t have to try and explain what had happened. If he told his mum what Douglas had done, she would call his mum and then it would just make everything worse for Zayn. 

He was relieved when he had to dig the key out of his very wet shorts to open the door. He tiptoed anyway before racing up the stairs and running into the bathroom. He quickly stripped and jumped into the shower, water scalding hot. He stayed under the spray until he stopped trembling, just before it turned cold on him. 

He screamed when he reached his room and found Liam sitting on the end of his bed. Liam cradled his hand to his chest, hurt in his eyes when he looked up at Zayn. He stood and crossed to Zayn, pulling him into a hug. Zayn relaxed for a second before remembering he was wearing only the towel he’d wrapped around himself after his shower. They broke apart, both blushing, as Zayn hurriedly grabbed clothes and changed in the bathroom. 

When he returned, Liam had his right hand in front of him, gingerly opening and closing his fist and wincing as he did so. Zayn grabbed his hand, apologizing when Liam yelped. “What happened?”

Liam looked at Zayn in surprise, but shook his head. “Rough training,” he answered, pulling away. Zayn turned on his heel and walked out of the room, Liam following closely behind him. “What happened to you? Why did you run away?”

Zayn went into the kitchen, pulling open the freezer and groaning when he saw there wasn’t a lot of ice. He grabbed a bag of frozen peas instead. Closing the door, he grasped Liam’s arm and led him into the sitting room and pushed him onto the couch before settling next to him. He gently picked up his injured hand, laying the bag of peas over the bruised and bloody knuckles, apologizing again when Liam hissed.

“Zayn,” Liam said, his voice soft, when the silence had dragged on for too long. He looked up, but still wouldn’t meet his eyes, his gaze falling on a bruise that was starting to form on Liam’s chin. He reached up and brushed his fingers over gently. Liam reached up with his good hand and clasped Zayn’s pulling it away from his face. “What happened to you?”

“Fell in the pool,” he answered, refusing to look Liam in the eye, shame washing over him at the lie. “Can’t swim,” he muttered.

“Why did you say you’d go swimming then?” Zayn shrugged. Liam studied him and let out a huff of air that sounded annoyed, but his eyes were fond. “I’m teaching you to swim.” Zayn’s eyes widened in horror; he didn’t plan on ever setting foot near a pool again after that day. “Next summer.” Zayn chuckled and they spent the rest of the afternoon making plans for the rest of that summer.

***

Zayn dreaded the first day of school. He was still having nightmares about the pool and had stopped having sleepovers with Liam and Niall because of it. He knew that Liam would understand, but he was still too embarrassed. Liam started training at another gym on the other side of the city, so he had less time anyway. It got to the point where Zayn hadn’t seen Liam for several weeks.

He stood outside the school on the first day, staring up the steps towards the door and swallowing hard. He dreaded running into Douglas and he was even nervous about seeing Liam. What if he didn’t want to be his friend anymore? What if he realized just how much of a loser Zayn really was? He debated just turning around and walking away, who cared if he dropped out of school at thirteen?

He turned on his toes and ran into someone. He flinched when hands grasped his upper arms when he stumbled. “Sorry,” he muttered trying to pull away as quickly as possible.

“Zee,” Liam said, smiling down before pulling him into a hug. “How’ve you been?”

Zayn froze and then melted into the hug, relief filling him as he felt another set of arms wrap about him and smelled the cheap body spray Niall loved to wear. “M’good now,” Zayn admitted, blushing a bit when Liam and Niall laughed.

They broke apart when they heard the bell ring, running inside to find out what classes they had and if they shared any. They each had at least two classes with each other, but Zayn worried his lip for the couple of classes he had without either of them. He feared to see Douglas in the classes, waiting for him. The torture had just been getting worse over the years and Zayn couldn’t even fathom how Douglas would top nearly drowning him.

Zayn made it through the morning without seeing even a glimpse of Douglas and he was feeling lighter when he dropped down next to Liam at the lunch table. He opened his lunch just as Niall raced up and dropped down across from them, chest heaving. “Did you run here, mate?”

“Did you hear?” he gasped out, twisting open his water bottle and chugging. Once half the bottle was gone, he wiped a hand across his mouth. “Douglas went to jail!”

“WHAT?” Zayn asked, shocked. “Where did you hear that?”

“I was walking past the teacher’s lounge and overheard the principal talking to someone. They asked if anyone knew what happened to Douglas, I’m guessing it was Coach because he called him Rackham, and the principal said the team was going to need a new Centre Midfield because Douglas had been nicked for B&E!” Niall threw his head back laughing as Zayn let out a cheer louder than intended. He only hoped the boy would be gone for a good long time.

Liam’s smile was small, but full of mirth. “Well, that certainly changes things.” He gave Zayn a one-armed hug, confusing him so he arched an eyebrow at his friend. “Maybe we should try out for the team.” 

Zayn snorted and shook his head. “I’ll cheer you on when you make the team though,” he promised quietly. He watched Niall and Liam talk excitedly about try outs, adding to the conversation when he could.

Unsurprisingly, Liam made the team and became even busier than he’d been over the summer. Zayn, determined to hold onto his best mate, sat on the sidelines while doing homework and cheered him on. It was the third or fourth week of practices when someone dropped down beside him. He glanced up and found himself staring at a face nearly overcome by dimples. “Hi?” he questioned.

“Hey! I’m Harry,” Dimples said, extending a hand, which Zayn took carefully.

“Zayn.”

Harry nodded enthusiastically. “Liam’s boy, right?” Zayn’s face flushed and he shook his head, ready to correct the misunderstanding. “I don’t mean like that, but you are here for him, right?”

“Yeah, he’s my best mate,” Zayn told him, looking out on the pitch when he heard Liam yelp. A smaller boy, someone new to the school, if Zayn remembered correctly, had knocked him to the ground and was straddling his chest, arms raised triumphantly over his head. Zayn started to rise until he heard Liam’s laughter.

“That’s my boy atop yours,” Harry explained and Zayn smiled. “He’s Louis.” Zayn nodded, remembering hearing the name from Liam over the past couple weeks. “Said that Liam’s been really welcoming.”

“He’s a good guy,” Zayn said. “You known Louis long?”

Harry shook his head. “He came up to me the first day of school and poked me in a dimple, proclaiming he was my best friend and nothing was going to change that fact.” He shrugged. “Why fight it?” Zayn laughed out loud at that, smiling when the topics of their conversation walked up. 

“Talking about me, love?” Louis asked, dropping a kiss to the top of Harry’s head, causing the boy to blush. He looked over at Zayn and held out a hand. “Zayn, yeah? Liam’s boy?”

Zayn flushed again as Liam dropped next to him, elbowing him in the side. “My best mate, yeah,” Liam responded. “Met him in the nurse’s office when we were ten.”

“Awww, did you have bewwyaches?” Louis baby talked, earning a kick to the bottom of the foot from Liam.

“Nope. Manly stuff. Injuries,” Liam said and Louis opened his mouth, but Liam kept speaking. “So, are you two going to be cheering us on at our first game? Coach said you could help out on the sidelines, if you want?” Harry nodded eagerly and Zayn agreed a bit less enthusiastically, but he looked forward to being involved, even if it was on the sidelines.

Niall waddled up, pulling off the head of his grizzly bear costume before collapsing next to them. “This costume is going to kill me,” he gasped out. “Someone give me water!” He laid there with his mouth open until Zayn opened a water bottle and poured it into his mouth, the group laughing when he sputtered and spit water everywhere. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver, you are!”

The first game was a few days later and Zayn was surprised when the coach gave him and Harry extra team jerseys, minus names. He put them in charge of making sure the players had water and anything else they needed. Harry bounced around happily while Zayn followed more slowly. When the game started, he cheered for their team. Louis scored the first goal and Harry and Zayn jumped up and down hugging each other.

Their team was leading by two points at half-time. Liam and Louis’ spirits were high and Zayn was so proud of his friend. The second half started and Zayn noticed right away the other team was gunning for Liam and Louis. Several times, it seemed the other team was pushing too hard or trying to kick their team and not the ball, but Harry said those were hard calls to make. Zayn worried his lip and scratched at the back of his neck as he watched Liam.

Liam had the ball and was trying to find Louis, a player from the other team trying to get the ball away from him, Liam easily outmaneuvering him. Suddenly, the other player kicked out, his foot connecting with Liam’s knee. Liam screamed and went down,the referees immediately halting the game. Harry stopped Zayn from rushing onto the pitch, but let go when the coach waved him over. 

Liam was laying on the ground, clutching his knee to the chest and muttering curses under his breath. The coach kept talking to him, but Zayn had no idea what was being said; he couldn’t take his eyes off of Liam. He jumped when Harry grabbed his hand and slammed an ice pack into it. Without thinking, he gently pulled Liam’s hands off his knee and placed the ice pack over the rapidly bruising knee. 

Liam yelped at first, his eyes shooting open and he stared at Zayn, but gradually his body relaxed. Zayn followed his knee with the ice as he lowered it to the ground, whimpering as he straightened it. The coach felt around, his brow furrowed when Liam gasped out a sob. “Can you stand, son?”

Liam pushed himself to sitting, leaning back on his hands, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath. The coach reached under his arm and Louis went under his other, the two of them helping Liam to his feet. Zayn stood, still holding the ice pack, smiling when he heard the crowd clapping and cheering as Liam let himself be, more or less, carried off the pitch.

Liam’s parents were standing behind the team bench, his father taking Louis’ place under his arm and Zayn hurrying to take Coach’s. “I’ll get that wanker,” Louis hissed and Liam shook his head. 

“Just win. Best revenge,” he hissed through clenched teeth and Louis nodded, pressing their foreheads together before heading back to the pitch just as the coach yelled.

Once they had Liam in the car, Zayn stepped back, surprised when Karen pushed him in beside Liam. “I’ve already called your mum and told her we are going to A&E and we’ll bring you home later.” Zayn nodded as Liam maneuvered himself so his injured leg was across Zayn’s lap. 

Zayn laid the ice pack over the injury and looked over to see Liam with his head back against the door of the car and eyes clenched shut, his jaw tense; Zayn could almost hear his teeth grinding. He reached over and laid a hand over one of Liam’s, smiling when he saw him relax under the touch. Zayn struggled to find something to say while Liam’s parents whispered quietly in the front seat.

“S’gonna be fine,” Liam said, opening his eyes to look at him, pain etched inside the chocolate orbs. Zayn nodded, unsure. 

“Take more than that to take down the Payne Train,” Zayn joked weakly, laughing when Liam rolled his eyes at the nickname Niall had given him.

They talked about the other boys, debated how the game was going, until the car stopped. Zayn helped Liam get inside, pleased to see that his face was more relaxed and a bit of the twinkle was back in his eyes. Zayn laughed out loud when Liam told the admitting clerk that he’d gotten hurt by trying to save a kitten from a tree. Liam cheered when Louis arrived just before his x-ray to announce that they had trounced the other team. They both couldn’t stop laughing when Niall arrived and told the story of how he’d, somehow, managed to ‘accidentally’ kick a football into the face of the player that had hurt Liam, possibly breaking his nose. When the coach had yelled at him, he’d claimed no control over his limbs in the mascot costume. The coach ended up laughing once he’d reached the locker room and patting Niall on the back.

Thankfully, Liam’s knee was only bruised and sprained. He was forced to be off it for two days, keeping it wrapped, iced and elevated. Liam’s parents arranged for Zayn to stay over and keep Liam sane. By Monday, a lot of the swelling had gone down, but Liam was stuck using crutches for a few weeks and missing most of the season. He and Zayn still sat on the bench at every game, cheering on the team.

***

Even after the season ended, Liam and Louis trained together, trying to strengthen Liam’s knee and keep Louis in shape. Zayn started spending more time with Harry and Niall. Even as the years passed and they all had less classes together, starting to take classes for what they were interested in, the five of them found time to spend together in various groupings. Niall wanted to be a sound engineer, Harry was looking into becoming a lawyer, Louis planned to play footie forever and tended to blow off most of his classes. Liam kept taking basic classes, planning to become a firefighter after school was done. He did sign up for an art class, just so he could keep Zayn company, and nearly failed. In fact, he probably would have if Zayn hadn’t done his final assignment for him.

It was Year 11, during a sleepover at Liam’s house, that Zayn admitted to him that he might like boys and not girls. Liam pulled him into a hug and told him that was okay because he was pretty sure he liked both. They came out to their friends the next day and then their families the next year; both times everyone seemed surprised that their sexuality announcements were not accompanied by “And we’re dating”. The thought had crossed Zayn’s mind before and after that he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It made sense, date your best friend, but he was convinced that Liam didn’t feel the same way about him. 

***

Year 12, Liam started dating a girl named Danielle. She was nice, but Zayn missed spending time with Liam, so when a guy named Travis started talking to Zayn in his Maths class and then asked him out, Zayn didn’t say no. They had a nice time and Travis treated Zayn well. At first. It didn’t take long to realize that Travis was possessive to a fault. He would text constantly to see where Zayn was when they weren’t together. Anytime he saw Zayn talking to someone else, he would find a reason to pull him away from the conversation. He was flat out rude to Liam, but Zayn just laughed it off as jealousy because Liam had known Zayn so long.

After Liam and Danielle split up, things got worse. Travis told Zayn that he shouldn’t hang out with Liam anymore. He insinuated that Liam had broken up with Danielle to chase after Zayn; which was ridiculous since Zayn knew for a fact Danielle had shattered Liam’s heart, leading to the boy shaving off his gorgeous curls just to have control over something in his life. Zayn tried to convince him he was wrong, but Travis’ eyes filled with tears and he claimed that Zayn must not really love him and wanted to be with Liam instead.

Zayn started ignoring Liam at school and sneaking around just to hang out with him. He felt terrible for all of the secrets he was being forced to keep. He kept waiting for Liam to talk to him, to demand Zayn explain what was going on, but he never did. Liam just pulled further away at school, but still texted late at night when Zayn was in bed. 

One Friday night, Zayn was over at Travis’ watching movies; his parents were gone, so Travis was getting handsy. Zayn was okay with kissing, but he wasn’t ready for anything else, and definitely not with Travis. As time went on and he was feeling more and more isolated from his friends, he was beginning to question everything about his relationship. Travis was trying to undo Zayn’s belt, for the third time, when Zayn’s phone rang.

“Who is it?” he demanded as Zayn tried to scramble from underneath him to get to his phone on the table. Travis scooped it up before he had a chance. “Why the fuck is Liam calling you?” Zayn panicked, if Liam was calling, and not texting, it was serious; he struggled to get the phone from Travis, stopping when a hand wrapped around his neck and squeezed. Travis glared as he accepted the call. “What?” he snapped into it, his eyes hardening as a truly evil smirk spread across his lips. “I’m sorry. Zayn can’t come to the phone right now; his mouth is otherwise occupied.”

Zayn’s eyes popped open as he understood the implication of his words. He struggled and shoved, trying his hardest to not lose consciousness as breathing became more difficult. He finally kicked out, catching Travis in the shin, and off-guard. As soon as his grip loosened, Zayn shouted Liam’s name and shoved Travis, grabbing for the phone and grasping it as Travis tumbled over the coffee table.

Zayn ran for the door as quickly as he could. He’d got a hand around the doorknob just as he felt himself jerked back by the collar of his shirt. Travis’ hand wrapped around his throat again and he used it to hold Zayn against his chest. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Zayn struggled and fought, smashing his foot down on Travis’, but they were both barefoot so the damage was minimal. He could hear Liam’s voice shouting through the phone, but couldn’t make out the words. He tried to remember some of the things he’d seen Liam do during training, but it was getting harder to breathe, dark shadows forming in his vision. Suddenly, he remembered something from a movie and hoped it would work in real life. He jerked his head backwards, grinning when he heard a sharp crack as his head connected with Travis’ nose.

As soon as the grip on his throat loosened, he kicked backwards and heard a crash behind him. He didn’t bother looking over his shoulder to see what happened, he just grabbed the doorknob and raced outside. He started thrashing when he ran into someone and arms wrapped around him. 

“Zayn. Zayn!” Liam’s voice finally broke through and Zayn just collapsed against him. “What happened? Where is he?” He felt Liam’s hand run over the back of his head. “Is that blood?”

“P-p-probably his,” Zayn managed to get out as the sobs took over. Liam moved him back to look him over and Zayn hissed when he ran his fingers over his neck. 

“Stay with Niall,” Liam said and Zayn realized that they weren’t alone when Niall’s arms went around him and his face was pulled into a neck that was doused in body spray. “I’ll be right back.”

Zayn heard the shouting behind him, but didn’t have the strength to lift his head. He was still trying to get his breathing back to normal and every swallow hurt his throat. He reached a hand up and whimpered when he touched his neck; he knew it had to be terribly bruised. A few moments later, he felt arms pulling him away from Niall and he stiffened for a moment before he realized it was Liam. His back was pulled against Liam’s chest and Zayn ran his hands over his arms to pull them tighter against him, jumping when Liam made a pained sound.

Zayn looked down and saw blood on Liam’s knuckles. He used the edge of his shirt to blot at it, ignoring Liam’s protests. Some of the blood came off, but revealed splits and some already forming bruises. “What did you do?” he asked.

“What I had to do,” Liam responded. 

Zayn turned to look at Liam, gasping when he saw the bruising on his cheek and split to his lip. It looked like Liam got almost as good as he gave. He glanced towards the door, his mouth dropping open when he saw Travis standing there. He was leaning heavily on the frame, his face ten times worse than Liam’s, and shouting at Liam. “I’ll call the cops!”

Liam growled, but Zayn moved towards Travis. “Go ahead. We’ll wait for them.” His voice was raspy and it hurt, but he was angry and he would not let Liam get in trouble for this. “I’ll show them this.” He gestured to his neck. “I’ll tell them what you did to me and how Liam saved my life.” Travis stared, motionless, and Zayn picked his phone up. “Did you want me to call them?” Travis shook his head. “Didn’t think so.”

He turned on his heel and hurried down the sidewalk, Liam and Niall catching up to him. Liam draped an arm over Zayn’s shoulder, whispering how proud he was of him in his ear and Niall skipping alongside, laughing. “Let’s go back to mine and get you some ice,” Zayn told Liam, wanting nothing except to put this night and Travis behind him.

***

Travis stayed away from them for the rest of the year and then graduated, so Zayn finally stopped looking over his shoulder. He was able to walk down the halls without his breath catching every time he spotted Travis. Liam was a constant at his side, even after Travis was gone. As they were finishing up Year 13, all anyone talked about in classes was the big dance that was coming up quickly. Harry and Louis were going together, having been a couple since the day they’d met, if you asked Louis; if you asked Harry, it took a bit longer than that. If you asked Zayn, he would tell you they’d been destined to be together since birth and had just taken them awhile to find each other. Niall was taking a sweet girl named Jess that was in his music appreciation class. 

Zayn wasn’t going. He didn’t dance and he really wasn’t interested in going with anyone that wasn't Liam, but he wasn't going to risk their friendship by asking him. The plan was that Zayn would stay home alone and he'd almost convinced himself he was alright with that. A couple of weeks before the dance, he was standing with Liam talking about a movie they were going to see the upcoming weekend when a girl approached them.

“Hey, Liam,” she purred and Zayn wanted to gag. He eyed the girl critically, taking in her watery eyes and doughy face; he didn’t understand the attraction.

“Hey,” Liam responded, smiling at her, but his eyes still on Zayn.

“So, I was wondering who you were going to the dance with,” she said, looking down at the books clasped in her arms.

“Nobody,” he said, shrugging when Zayn smacked his arm, tilting his head in question; he’d been sure Liam had planned on asking someone.

The girl looked up with bright eyes. “Really?” She placed an arm on his bicep, squeezing slightly before rubbing up and down, sliding her hand down his arm, trying to tangle her fingers with his. “So-”

Liam’s eyes widened and he cut her off. “I’m not going with anyone because I’m not going.”

“Why?” the girl challenged, glancing up at Liam through her eyelashes. Zayn turned his back to her and rolled his eyes, swallowing a noise of disgust.

“I’ll see ya later, Li,” he said, racing off before he could get a response, nearly knocking over a younger student who crossed Zayn’s path at the wrong moment.

That night, Zayn was lying on his bed sketching when the door to his room opened. Liam dropped down onto the bed and glanced at the drawings. “Looking sick, mate.”

Zayn closed the book and slid it under his pillow, sliding the pencil over his ear. “So, did Shrubbery convince you to go to the dance?”

Liam laughed. “You know her name is Aubry.” Zayn just shrugged, ducking his head to hide a smirk. “She gave up pretty quickly after you stormed off.”

“I didn’t storm,” Zayn huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, maybe a little.”   
  


Liam bumped his shoulder against his, chuckling. “Didn’t realize you disliked her so much.” Zayn snorted. “Or was it something else?” He played with the tiny hole in the knee of his jeans, scratching at it until it ripped a bit wider. “Did you want to go with her?”

Zayn snorted. “Nope, still into cock, man.” Liam’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ and his eyebrows furrowed. “Nothing to worry about; just get weird vibes off her. Do you remember when she made fun of me in primary?” Liam shook his head. “She used to follow Douglas around. She made fun of all of us, actually. Thought she was so much better.” 

“Then why would she want me to ask her to the dance?” Liam looked genuinely confused.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” Zayn laughed. “You’ve gotten fit.”

“You think I’m fit?” Liam asked, looking down at himself.

Zayn shoved him off the bed. “You know you’re dishy, Li,” to told him, his voice adoring in an exaggerated way. Liam flexed an arm and Zayn rolled his eyes. “Knock it off.” Liam climbed back onto the bed next to Zayn, his fingers starting to pick at the duvet. Zayn reached out and laid his hand over the twitching fingers, their eyes met. He was surprised by how serious Liam’s eyes looked. “What?”

“Don’t hate me,” Liam muttered, surprising Zayn.

“Wha-” Zayn’s question was cut off by the press of Liam’s lips against his. He froze, not quite believing what was happening, but after just two quick heartbeats, he melted into the kiss. The kiss only lasted a few moments, but Zayn struggled to breathe when Liam pulled back. He curled his fingers in Liam’s shirt, keeping him from pulling too far away. “What was that?”

“A kiss. Did I do it wrong?” Liam asked, lips twitching at the corners, eyes sparkling with mischief.

Zayn pinched at Liam’s side, causing the other boy to flinch and giggle. “Of course not, but why?” Zayn couldn’t wrap his mind around why Liam would be kissing him. He’d spent so much time convincing himself there was no way that Liam felt the same way he did.

Liam chuckled and pressed his forehead against Zayn’s. “You really are oblivious.”

“Big word,” Zayn said, impressed. He squeaked out a laugh when Liam shoved him so he fell flat on the bed, his grip on Liam’s shirt pulling him down on top of him. He looked up into Liam’s eyes, brushing the tips of their noses together. He could get used to this position. “Hi.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Hi.” He kissed the tip of Zayn’s nose and then pulled back. “That was alright, yeah?” Zayn nodded and Liam let out a sigh of air before pressing his lips to Zayn’s again. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you forever,” he whispered, the words brushing Zayn’s lips as the tip of Liam’s tongue stroked over the fullness.

“Really?” Zayn squeaked. “Forever?”

Liam nodded, running a hand up the back of Zayn’s head, rubbing against the shaved section on the back of his head. He pulled Zayn’s head to rest on his chest; Zayn listened to his heartbeat and smiled to himself, a giggle bubbling in his chest. “I knew you were important the first time I saw you.”

“The nurse’s office?”

Liam hummed out a negative sound. “Just before that. When Douglas and his friends were chasing you. I saw you fall and could tell you just wanted to cry, but you didn’t. Douglas was reaching for you before you could get up and I hollered at him to get his attention. I was so glad you got away with just a skinned knee.”

“Wait. If you got his attention…” Zayn trailed off, thinking. “Did Douglas beat you up that day?” Liam nodded and Zayn’s brain started racing. He remembered Douglas pushing him to the floor and his split lip. Liam’s black eye the same day. Liam’s suspension. The pool. Liam’s knuckles. Liam having to transfer clubs. Travis. Liam. His mind was a mess of pain and bruises and memories that were spinning so fast that he felt sick for a minute.

“Zee?” Liam’s voice was quiet and when Zayn looked up, he had to blink away tears to see Liam clearly. “You really never knew?” Zayn shook his head. “I would always protect you. Always.”

Zayn reached up and ran a hand over Liam’s face, memories of old injuries layering over his perfect face. He couldn’t fathom the pain this beautiful, amazing, perfect human being had suffered on his behalf. Suddenly, he pushed up to kneel next to Liam on the bed, leaving him stunned and staring up at him.

“Wha-” Liam cut off when Zayn smacked him, hard, in the arm. “What was that for?”

“You got your arse kicked!” Zayn snapped, his voice sputtered with disbelief.

Liam smirked and pulled him down for another kiss, breath pushing out on a laugh between them. “Yeah, but you held the ice.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, how many of you were wondering where my long ass note at the beginning was? Probably no one, but I really didn't want to ramble at the beginning.
> 
> First, big thanks to my daughter for creating the cover for this story. Couldn't be prouder of her and her talents.
> 
> Second, massive thanks to my beta, [Jess](http://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyestelllies) for putting up with me. Been going through some major author insecurity and she's stood by me through every bit of it.
> 
> Third, please kudo and comment or come and say, "hi" on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/JolynnMG) or [tumblr](http://josjournal.tumblr.com). I really do love hearing from people.
> 
> Much love. xx-Joey


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